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tv   ABC World News With Diane Sawyer  ABC  November 12, 2012 6:30pm-7:00pm EST

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this is "world news." tonight, spy games. the latest on that affair that brought down the nation's spy chief. the new mystery tonight about what really happened and when. and a new portrait of the wife and mother who became his dangerous secret. phantom blast. what caused the mysterious explosion in a suburb? families were sleeping, their houses leveled. is the danger underneath homes across the snags? racing rage. a crash on the track and the golden superstar of nascar says he did this as pay back. sparking a huge brawl afterwards. and tonight, the hammer comes down. >> i had it and i got him back. and on this veterans day weekend, the outpost. our jake tamer with powerful
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lessons from some american men who became heroes for country and for each other. good evening on this veterans day monday. and as we come on the air, new details are pouring in about the man in charge of so many of the nation's secrets, general david petraeus, forced to resign. and what about the woman at the center of his story? tonight, new questions, as well, about what was really going on and when and the avalanche of e-mails now beginning to emerge. abc's martha raddatz reports in now. martha? >> reporter: diane, an official tells abc news tonight,s the fbi discovered hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails between david petraeus and paula broadwell on her computer, an affair that petraeus is claiming did not begin until he left the army.
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a friend close to petraeus says the general was "shocked and surprised" to learn broadwell had been sending anonymous threatening e-mails to jill kelley, the petraeus family friend who was so alarmed by the e-mails, she called the fbi. those friends also tell us the general's wife, holly petraeus, is furious with her husband. you see her here at his confirmation hearings back in august of 2011, broadwell sitting just a few seats away. petraeus insists they weren't having an affair then, which leads us to the first big question -- when did the affair begin? petraeus' friends claim it started around november 2011, two months after he took over the cia, an important point, since he could be tried under military law for adultery. >> it didn't begin when he was in the army. >> reporter: but many who know the general suspect it began
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months earlier in afghanistan. it was september 2010 that broadwell made her first of six visits to petraeus in the warzone after being granted extraordinary access to write the book about him. >> when i was in kabul, we would do a lot of interviews on runs. for him, i think it was a good distraction from the war. >> reporter: question two -- when did the fbi get involved? it was around may or june that the fbi was tracing those threatening e-mails sense to petraeus' friend jill kelley. broadwell turned over her computer to the fbi, where they found a trove of explicit e-mails between petraeus and broadwell. the fbi does not believe petraeus gave any classified information to broadwell, though there was some found on her computer. and tonight, there are calls from capitol hill to find out why it was the white house was not informed about this investigation, diane, until five months after it began. >> the investigation is full force tonight. thank you, martha. and as we said, we're also learning more about the wife and mother at the center of the
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scandal, paula broadwell. and abc's sharyn alfonsi now has those new details. >> reporter: her north dakota class mates voted her most likely to be remembered. but no one thought it would be for this. paula broadwell was exceptional. high school valedictorian. homecoming queen. west point cadet. and later, a graduate student at harvard. where a chance meeting with petraeus would change everything. on c-span, revealing she approached him about researching she was doing. >> and he was kind enough to take the paper and give me his business card. >> reporter: that research led to a book and later, a book tour. broadwell was reportedly having an affair at petraeus the same time she was out promoting her book about him. >> is he awesome or incredibly awesome? >> he can turn water into bottled water. >> reporter: the 40-year-old often admired for he biceps as much as her brains, then had
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push up contest with jon stewart. her husband scott joining in. >> six, seven, eight. >> reporter: those book tour interviews now being viewed and revi reviewed. >> it's not -- i'm not in love with david petraeus. i know holly, his wife, read it and she had great things to say. >> reporter: but as high octane as broadwell ran, helping demonstrate and sell guns in this infomercial for criss arms. >> on the individual fighter, reducing weight is critical. >> reporter: neighbors saw something else. a loving mother. a doting wife. >> she and her husband, i observed, had a really good, affecti affectionate relationship. it was often you would see them having, with their kids, candlelight dinners. >> reporter: their boys, ages 4 and 6. their charlotte home now dark. a note etched in chalk left on their driveway. neighbors say the family hasn't been seen in days.
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diane? >> thank you so much, sharyn. and now we move onto a very different mystery. this one, devastating a quiet suburb in indianapolis. a ferocious explosion in the night, home after home leveled into cinders and rubble. tonight, investigators are pouring over the clues to find the cause and to alert other neighborhoods across the country. abc's john slefchriffen has mor. >> reporter: the explosion was so intense, now it looks like a tornado tore through this indianapolis community. for dozens of families, the cruel reality of saturday night's blast is just starting to set in. >> all of a sudden, the house shook, things fell. we ran outside and we just see the whole house, i mean, it was like, four, five houses down from us and it was in flames. >> reporter: federal authorities are now teaming up with local agencies to figure out how this happened. >> we're looking at everything. all causes, all possibilities.
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>> reporter: authorities say at this point, nothing has been ruled out. yet the mayor of indianapolis says it was not caused by a bomb or an exploding methamphetamine lab. law enforcement sources tell abc news the leading theory, that it was caused by a gas explosion. >> it's too early to speculate. >> reporter: investigators believe it could take weeks before they know what triggered the mysterious blast that caused so much damage. john schriffen, abc news, indianapolis. and we take you next from indiana to the american communities still suffering tonight, two weeks after hurricane sandy brought the wind and the water. and some of the poorest neighborhoods and most vulnerable people are still in desperate need of help. even after all the time and all the money that has poured in. abc's steve osunsami walked the streets to investigate why. >> reporter: we went climbing those long and dark stairs in red hook, brooklyn, at the new
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york city housing authority, where thousands of families are still living without heat and electricity. >> bedroom is ice cold. >> reporter: some of the 47,000 without power across the city. >> you just have to, well, pray. and hope for the best. >> reporter: we found mia tarver and her family using steam from boiling water to keep warm. >> thank god my stove works. if we didn't have the stove, i don't think i could stay here. >> reporter: the stove is what's keeping you warm. >> yeah. >> reporter: outside, long lines at the relief agencies for bread, blankets and soup. the red cross and other agencies are here. but families are entering their third week without power and they want someone held accountable. >> we were left behind. that's all i can say. we were left behind. they forgot about us. we, too, pay taxes. >> reporter: they worry there's no one to restore the power here, because they're poor. the local power utilities say they've done their job. the pouter is here, at the curb. but the housing authority says it can't bring the electricity in because the equipment in the basement is still wet.
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we took our questions to management and were shown the door. >> you have to get out. you can't come in here. >> reporter: but we didn't find the public housing chairman telling us that generators and pumps from as far away as texas started arriving over the weekend. >> they have not been forgotten. we've been focused on red hook and all our families that have been court critical services. >> reporter: families here are beyond frustrated, worried they could be without power until thanksgiving. the housing authority said it will do everything it can to make sure that doesn't happen. diane? >> steve 0 sosunsami reporting tonight. and we head next overseas to the middle east. israel announced that its tanks shot and hit an armoured vehicle in syria today. it's the first time the two sides have directly confronted each other since the civil war in syria began almost two years ago, raising the fear that israel could be dragged into the conflict. israel decided to fire after a mortar shell from syria landed in the golan heights. back here at home, a new
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headline, discussed around the kitchen table tonight about autism. we know that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with the disorder, and this new study suggests that about a flu, during a pregnancy, can increase a child's risk. abc's chief medical editor dr. richard besser here with the whole picture. so many pregnant couples are going to be in fear. what do you want to say to them s snr. >> reporter: the study found that moms that remembered having the flu during pregnancy, the risk of having an autistic child doubled, from 1% to 2%. still very, very small. and this type of study is called exploratory. doesn't prove anything but says we have to look at it further. >> let's look at the other risk factors, where does this rank with them? >> you know, it's along the same level. we have some clues. genetic factors are important. we know that autism runs in families. more common in boys. parents age matters, as fathers in particular get older and hit 40, the risk goes up.
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and then spacing between pregnancies. if you have children closer than ever three years, the risk goes up, too. lots of clues, no hard answers. >> you want to reassure everybody tonight about that 2% and the 98%? >> reporter: that's right. very small number. women who had the flu during pregnancy don't need to worry about this. they should get a flu shot, though, if they are pregnant buzz they are at great risk for the flu. >> thank you, richard besser reporting in. and still ahead on "world news," watch this. a fiery crash on the racetrack. a brazen move by the golden boy of nascar. what made him hit his breaking point, next. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles
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>> and mayhem in the late laps. >> reporter: an intentional accident at more than 100 miles an hour. a move so controversial it all ended up in a brawl. >> somewhere in the middle of all that is jeff door gone. >> reporter: take a look again. watch the number 24 car, jeff gordon, slowing down, and deliberately pushing the number 15 car, driven by clint bowyer, into the wall, wrecking bowyer's car and his chances. other drivers are outraged. >> the retaliation is out of control in this sport and it's going to get somebody hurt. >> reporter: fans are debating on twitter. respect for jeff gordon? that doesn't exist anymore, said one. another said, jeff, we're behind you 100%. for these two drivers, a bitter end to a season-long feud. >> run into me numerous times. i had it. >> it's pretty embarrassing for a four-time champion. >> jeff gordon! >> reporter: the man at the center of this incident is one of the sport's most popular stars. the only nascar driver ever to
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host "saturday night live." >> every time i get in a car, there's a chance i could crash and burn in front of millions of people. i guess i am prepared for this show. >> reporter: jeff gordon has even guest starred on "sesame street." not the guy you'd expect to be outsetling scores. in gnat car, they have a phrase for this. "have at it, boys." when cars are whipping around these tracks at more than 200 miles an hour, it can be a most dangerous game. >> this is kind of a new nascar, where they've told the drivers to have at it and you settle things among yourselves. >> reporter: so, what's next for gordon? late today, nascar fined him $100,000. david wright, abc news, los angeles. and coming up, the titanic's star crossed lovers, jack, rose, and that huge jewel. tonight, we'll show you the real jewels found near the real titanic. and that's next. [ male announcer ] are you considering a new medicare plan? then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs.
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the jewels are traveling, on display, starting in atlanta later this week. and, some breathtaking photos to free your imagination. ordinary moments, celebrated in extraordinary ways. like, catching a subway. shoveling snow. hitting the surf. all part of project "dancers among us," professionals reminding the rest of us to be alive to have a chance to dance. and, our person in the news, lance armstrong. he has now severed all ties with the livestrong charity he helped found. but the cyclist accused of doping sent a defiant tweet. a picture, armstrong in his living room surrounded by his seven yellow jerseys from the tour de france, and the caption, quote, back in austin and just laying around. it's been retweeted 8,000 times and counting. and, we always want to hear from you, so, tell us which pictu pictures, people and quotes capture your imagination, every day. online at abcnews.com or tweet them to me, @dianesawyer.
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and coming up, a salute to uncommon valor. a band of brothers stranded, 53 brave americans trying to fight off more than 400 enemy fighters. jake tapper, here, with their untold story ahead. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with a low national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on your medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details.
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and finally tonight, on this veterans day monday, a story of courage and the oath that u.s. forces take to protect the country, no matter the cost. even when the odds are stacked against them, even when their comrades have fallen. two and a half years ago, our own senior white house correspondent jake tapper saw the faces of some of these men and knew he had to write their story. and his new book, which comes out tomorrow is called "the outpost: an untold story of american valor." >> reporter: on october 3rd, 2009, i was at the hospital with my wife and my newborn son.
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out of the corner of my eye i caught a news story from afghanistan. >> eight soldiers lost their lives. >> reporter: an attack on a remote u.s. military base, combat outpost keating. >> i've been on three deployments, i've never seen that large a force attacking one static position. >> reporter: just 53 americans fought valiantly against up to 400 taliban insurgents. shown here on this terrifying video posted months later. and as i held my son, i learned of eight other sons taken from us that day, in what was the deadliest day for the u.s. in afghanistan that year. over the next two years, i tracked down the stories of the eight men lost that day. kevin thompson. josh kirk, michael scusa, chris griffin, josh hardt, verve mon martin and stephon mace. i wondered why they were stationed at that doomed outp t outpost, at the bottom of
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three steep mountains, just 14 miles from the pakistan border. >> it was in a very, very bad place. it was unfightable. we did what we could to fight off the enemy, but as a result of where we were at, made it very difficult for us to fight. >> reporter: it turns out that a peng investigation later concluded by mid-2009, there was no tactical or strategic value to the outpost. but so many had paid the ultimate price, including the man named for the post. these are the special men and women that make up our armed services. so, today, as we think about all those who served, and those lost, including the eight killed that horrible october day, think also of those left behind. the children who will never know their fathers and mothers, in the name of protecting you and me. >> as you wrote, jake, uncommon
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valor. >> reporter: it really is uncommon. and i've been covering the war in afghanistan, and iraq, from the comfort of the north lawn of the white house. but it wasn't until i started researching this book, going to afghanistan, talking to troops, their families, their widows, their grieving moms, i came to an appreciation of what these people, what it is they give for you and me and our families. not just the troops, who obviously put themselves in harms way, but their moms and their kids and wives and husbands. they really deserve much more than just one day. >> one day, on this veterans day weekend. thank you so much for this. and i did love what you wrote about them, that they are the bravest people, trying to do their very best in an impossible situation in that part of the world. thank you, jake. and, again, we thank you for watching on this veterans day holiday. "nightline" will be along later. and we'll see you back here again tomorrow night. good night.
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